Downtown San Diego has become a canvas for the latest TV shows and video games with wraps attached to more than 30 buildings.
Set to be completed before San Diego Comic-Con International kicks off Wednesday night, the advertisements are for everything from the “Lord of the Rings” show to the “The Walking Dead” franchise.
Most of the building wraps are technically illegal. But given that the penalties are lower than the revenue that building owners get from the wraps, they do it anyway.
The city can fine hotels and businesses up to $10,000 a day, but such high sanctions are rare. It is more common for the city to give out warnings or a $1,000 per day citation.
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Some neighborhood groups have complained in past years that the building wraps are a blight on downtown. That contrasts with Comic-Con attendees who enjoy seeing the buildings transformed.
Justin Wu, a local surgeon downtown Monday promoting his Healing Little Heroes Foundation, said that he has seen the scale and quality increase over the years.
“I love it. They are big and colorful,” he said, wearing a Captain America costume. “They keep getting bigger and bigger.”
The company responsible for most of the wraps is New York-based KAP Media Group. The company started with one wrap in 2012 and has seen its business grow each year. It has 25 this year, up from 23 last year and 18 in 2022.
KAP founder Lori Brabant said a lot of work goes into the wraps from picking the colors that will go best with the building to figuring out how to fit around the contours of different properties.
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“These are pieces of art,” she said. “It is very exciting for us to see it come to life.”
Most wraps are attached with an adhesive vinyl, but different materials can be used depending on what the building calls for. Brabant said wraps can cost more than $100,000, but did not want to disclose specifics.
Not all of the building wraps are illegal. The Port of San Diego allows building wraps on land it controls west of Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway.
There are plenty of other advertisements downtown besides wraps. Marvel Studios has banners on flags for the “Fantastic Four” film opening next summer; San Diego Trolley has wraps for “The Sandman” and other properties; the Jack in the Box on C Street was turned into a promotion for the “Deadpool & Wolverine” film; and banners for the new Batman show “The Penguin” are posted along the trolley tracks.
One of the biggest advertisements is on a new three-sided digital billboard outside the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station that will play advertisements for the new Peacock show “Those About to Die” and the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
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Here is a look at some of this year’s building wraps:
Daryl Dixon (“The Walking Dead”)An advertisement for the latest show in the “The Walking Dead” franchise wraps around The Pendry Hotel at 550 J St. Monday ahead of Comic-Con International in San Diego. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: The PendryAddress: 550 J St.
AMC’s successful zombie franchise “The Walking Dead” has now stretched into multiple TV shows including “Daryl Dixon,” which covers all of the Pendry San Diego hotel.
The Rings of Power
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An advertisement for the latest show in the “The Lord of the Rings” franchise wraps around 238 Fifth Ave. ahead of Comic-Con International. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar buildingAddress: 238 Fifth Ave.
Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings show, “The Rings of Power”, is back for a second season. This building was used last year by Prime’s other big franchise, “The Boys.”
Fox AnimationAn advertisement for “Fox Animation Domination” franchise wraps around The Omni Hotel at 675 L St. in downtown San Diego. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: The Omni San Diego HotelAddress: 675 L St.
Fox Animation celebrates many of its shows on the hotel, including “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers.” The southern side features Maggie Simpson holding building blocks that spell out SDCC .
Marvel: Contest of ChampionsAn advertisement for Marvel Contest of Champions on the side of the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter at 401 K St. Monday ahead of Comic-Con International. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp QuarterAddress: 401 K St.
The Contest of Champions game features a big installation in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade with a Ferris wheel. You can see an advertisement for the game, featuring Wolverine, Captain America and Deadpool, on the wall of the adjacent hotel.
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Abbott ElementaryAn advertisement for the ABC show “Abbott Elementary” wraps around Petco Park at 100 Park Blvd. Monday ahead of San Diego Comic-Con International (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Petco ParkAddress: 100 Park Blvd.
The ABC/Hulu sitcom “Abbott Elementary” is getting ready for a fourth season and has been a frequent presence at Comic-Con. For a second year, it covers much of Petco Park.
Anne Rice’s Immortal UniverseVarious advertisements for AMC shows Monday in downtown San Diego.(Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp QuarterAddress: 401 K St.
AMC’s franchise of shows based on Anne Rice books has now spread into three shows: “Interview with the Vampire,” “Mayfair Witches” and (in development) “Talamasca.”
SpongeBob SquarePants
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An advertisement for the 25 years of “SpongeBob” wraps around The Hard Rock Hotel at 207 Fifth Ave. Monday ahead of Comic-Con International. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Hard Rock Hotel San DiegoAddress: 207 Fifth Ave.
The beloved animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” is celebrating its 25th year by taking over the entire Hard Rock Hotel. Memes on the building have already been a big hit on social media.
Star TrekAn advertisement for the “Star Trek” shows wraps around Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina at 333 W Harbor Drive on Monday ahead of Comic-Con International. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Marriott Marquis San Diego MarinaAddress: 333 W. Harbor Drive
The biggest wrap this year, at 36,000 square feet, is for Paramount+’s series of “Star Trek” shows.
Elden RingAn advertisement for the video game “Elden Ring” wraps around the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, parking structure at 1 Park Blvd. Monday ahead of Comic-Con International. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Hilton San Diego Bayfront parking garageAddress: 1 Park Blvd
The role-playing game Elden Ring, which won several “best game of the year” awards in 2023, is advertised on a heavily used parking garage near the Convention Center.
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Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesAn advertisement for the Paramount+ show “Tales of the Teenage Ninja Turtles” wraps around the Park 12 apartment building. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Location: Park 12Address: 100 Park Plaza
The latest Ninja Turtles show coming to Paramount+ covers downtown San Diego’s biggest apartment complex, Park 12, which has 718 units.
Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song – San Diego Union-Tribune
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SUNG-MUN SONG
Position(s): Third base, second base
Bats / Throws: Left / Right
2026 opening day age: 29
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 194 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2025
Contract status: A four-year, $15 million deal will see Song make $2.5 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $3.5 million in 2028 and $4 million in 2029 if he does not opt out of last year; Half of his $1 million signing bonus is due in January 2026 and the other half in 2027; There is a $7 million mutual option for 2030.
.214 — Song’s isolated power in 2025, a career high as he prepared for a jump to the majors. Isolated power measures a player’s raw power (extra bases per at-bat) and Song had a .190 OPS in 2018, in his third year as a pro in Korea, before it dropped to .101 in 2019 and then a career-low .095 in 2023. Hitting 19 homers pushed Song’s isolated power to .178 in 2024 and then a career-high 26 homers push it even higher in 2025.
TRENDING
Idle — Drafted by the Heroes in 2014, Song debuted in the KBO the following year but didn’t become a regular until 2019. A drop-off in production — he had an .884 OPS in 78 games in 2018 and a .597 OPS in 103 games in 2019 — was followed by losing the 2020 season and a chunk of the 2021 season to military service obligations. Then three straight sub-.700 OPS seasons forced Song to rethink his approach to professional baseball, especially in the face of the likes of Ha-Seong Kim,Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim generating big-league buzz. Song started with weight training and nutrition. A hitting coach also helped him with balance, pull-side power and the ability to catch up with the sort of fastballs that seem to dog Korean players when they arrive in the States. It all added up to a breakthrough year in which Song paired 19 homers, 104 RBIs and 21 steals with a .340/.409/.518 batting line. To prove it was no fluke, Song followed up his 2024 season with another strong effort that solidified his wish to try his hand in the majors. The ensuing, four-year, $15 million deal that Song signed with the Padres in December cost his new employer a $3 million posting fee to be paid to the Kiwoom Heroes.
2026 OUTLOOK
Like Kim before him, Song appears to be joining the Padres as a utility player with the hope that he blossoms into more as he gets comfortable in a new country and league. Song had experience in Korea at third base (500 starts), second base (149 starts) and first base (38 starts). Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller even mentioned outfield reps in passing as he assessed how Song could help the Padres in 2026.
Former KBO player Sung-Mun Song shakes hands with Padres vice president of amateur and international scouting Pete DeYoung after signing a contract with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Saturday. (Photo by Armond Feffer/San Diego Padres)
Drivers traveling through the city of Poway may have noticed a dramatic change to the landscape. Since September, more than 1,400 trees — many of them eucalyptus — have been removed as part of the city’s hazardous mitigation grant project aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving public safety.
Poway is spending roughly $3 million on the effort, which focuses on removing trees that are dead, dying or considered dangerous. Much of the cost is being reimbursed by FEMA. Officials say the project is designed to make emergency evacuation routes safer while improving the overall health of trees along major roadways, rights-of-way and open spaces.
“I was relieved that there were some efforts being put into improving our resiliency to wildfire in our community,” said Poway Fire Chief Brian Mitchell.
Mitchell said spacing out trees can slow the spread of a wildfire and prevent roads from becoming blocked during an emergency.
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“That certainly has the potential to block our first responders from accessing somebody’s house in the middle of an emergency,” Mitchell said.
City leaders also point to storm safety as a key reason for removing hazardous trees under controlled conditions rather than risking falling limbs or entire trees during severe weather.
“I don’t want to be driving down that street and just a random limb just happened to collapse, you know, just hit me,” said Poway resident Dawn Davis.
Davis said she also worries about the threat the trees pose to nearby homes.
“I don’t want anybody’s homes here to be damaged, either by them or fire,” Davis said.
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A Poway spokeswoman said a certified arborist evaluated nearly 6,800 trees in Poway. About 2,800 invasive trees were recommended for removal.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.
The front of the Fowler Athletic Center at San Diego State includes a pair of double doors that open from the inside out. Replacing them with revolving doors would seem appropriate, given all the comings and goings nowadays.
SDSU had two dozen football players — including five starters on the defense — enter the NCAA transfer portal, which opened Friday. The first wave of candidates to replace them visited over the weekend.
And by Sunday afternoon, SDSU announced its first two signings. It was a package deal.
Sophomore offensive linemen Charlton and Mercer Luniewski are Michigan State transfers from Cincinnati. And twins.
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Charlton Luniewski’s social media says that he goes by “Big Chuck,” although Mercer is listed as an inch taller and 13 pounds heavier at 6-foot-6, 320. Mercer is also, by the way, 45 minutes older.
Charlton profiles at guard and Mercer at tackle, though SDSU typically works players in multiple spots to find the ideal fit. The twins are expected to challenge for spots on the two-deep if not the starting O-line, which lost three starters to graduation.
The twins were highly recruited two years ago out of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, where they also competed in track and basketball. They have three years of eligibility remaining.
The Luniewskis were among a dozen transfer recruits who visited SDSU over the weekend. Commitments have come from half of them. More recruits are scheduled for the coming this week as the Aztecs look to replenish the roster.
SDSU also received a commitment Sunday from Nate Henrich, a 6-6 edge from Division II Gannon University in Pennsylvania. Henrich had six tackles at Gannon, but he is viewed as having high upside with good size and length. He could provide needed depth at a position where the Aztecs lost four players to the portal.
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SDSU also expects commitments from Oregon State edge Kai Wallin, Portland State safety Isaiah Green and College of the Sequoias wide receiver Marshel Sanders.
Wallin is a 6-5 senior from Sacramento who played in nine games this season (seven starts) for the Beavers, making 17 tackles with one sack and four quarterback hurries. Green, a 6-1 junior from Oxnard, had a team-high 101 tackles at Portland State. Sanders is a 5-11 junior from Fresno who had 70 receptions for 929 yards and four touchdowns.
Bostick back
SDSU wide receiver Jacob Bostick announced on his social media Sunday that he is returning for the 2026 season.
His post read, in part: “Excited to get back to work with my coaches and teammates.”
Bostick had 11 catches for 157 yards and three touchdowns over six games before suffering a season-ending knee injury during practice six games into the season. He anticipates being ready to return by fall camp.
